Share!
The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, has said hardworking Nigerians should be able to afford food, arguing that the availability of food in markets means citizens who are willing to work should have something to eat.
Yari made the remark on Friday during the APC presidential campaign rally in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The former Zamfara State governor acknowledged that Nigerians were experiencing hunger but questioned whether the problem was caused by the unavailability of food in markets or people’s inability to afford it.
Addressing the crowd, Yari asked whether residents who went to markets with money had difficulty finding essential food items, including rice and other foodstuffs.
“If there is no food in the market, that is what we are calling hunger. But anyone who is not a lazy person, definitely he will have food on his table,” he said.
His comments come amid growing public concerns over the rising cost of food and the economic hardship confronting households across the country.
The remarks also come against the backdrop of an ongoing political debate over responsibility for Nigeria’s economic challenges ahead of the 2027 general elections.
At a separate APC campaign rally in Kaduna on October 24, President Tinubu had blamed previous administrations, particularly opposition figures, for the hunger and poverty confronting Nigerians.
“I hear my opponents talking about hunger. Who created it? They did. They created hunger and poverty. We are trying to eradicate them,” the President said.
The comments attracted criticism from opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who accused the President of shifting responsibility for the country’s economic difficulties.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, argued that government policies, including the removal of petrol subsidy and the depreciation of the naira, had contributed to the rising cost of living.
Similarly, the National Democratic Congress criticised the President’s remarks, with its National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, insisting that the APC-led administration should take responsibility for the economic situation rather than blame political opponents.
